Monday, October 13, 2014

Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season DVD Review

The storm may have passed, but now the relationships and romance of Grey-Sloan Memorial must survive in its wake. Bonds are tested, love is lost and the hospital bids farewell to Dr. Cristina Yang. Experience every heart-stopping moment in the "can't miss" tenth season of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." Following a massive mudslide, the hospital becomes a madhouse, and the lives of two doctors hang in the balance. The drama escalates as Arizona tries desperately to mend her broken marriage, while Derek and Meredith juggle their roles as surgeons and new parents. Meanwhile, a stunning betrayal pits Cristina against Meredith and, as April prepares for her big day, a familiar face returns to town. Big secrets lead to big problems and turn best friends into rivals.

Show (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)

"Grey’s Anatomy" lost me a few seasons ago. I was tired of the ridiculous injuries, the floods, the shootings, the bombs in peoples’ bodies, and the interaction of the characters. It became unbelievable to me. That said, I didn’t actually give up on it until last season. I let season eight sit on the DVR taking up space all year before I binge watched it. Season nine I made it through half the season before I ran out of room on the DVR and just deleted it. Then had second thoughts and watched it on Netflix. However, when season 10 arrived, I just didn’t care. It lost its space at the top of the DVR timer list and I planned on just giving up.

When presented with the chance of reviewing it, I said okay, mostly because I regretted not watching… not because I missed the show, but because I had invested so much time over the last 10 years watching it. I felt that I had to see it through, no matter how badly I didn’t want to. However, after watching the first few episodes, I was reminded why I started watching it in the first place. Something changed. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the writing, maybe the acting, but everything I found ridiculous the last few seasons didn’t bother me as much.

Season 10 was hailed as Sandra Oh’s swan song. She was leaving the show and her character Cristina Yang was leaving Seattle Grace/Mercy West/Grey-Sloan Memorial. Along the way, Alex Karev was offered a position in a private office; Meredith and Derek try juggling two young children, working and researching; Callie and Arizona try to repair their broken marriage by buying a house and discussing having a baby; Jackson makes a split second decision and declares his love for April at a most inopportune time – her wedding day. Richard, recovering from his wounds during the finale of season nine, is bored and begins teaching the interns from his hospital bed; the interns are still fighting for their positions and trying to impress the residents with their abilities; and Cristina is nominated for a Harper-Avery Award – the highest and most prestigious medical award in the Grey’s Anatomy world.

Of course, the season wouldn’t be complete with some unbelievable medical problems and tragedies – a mud slide, three children in the same family with the same heart defect, a bubble boy (who looks NOTHING like a young Jake Gyllenhaal), and a host of brain problems for Derek to solve. In the end, like always, the characters come together, save the lives, make out in the On-Call Room and lead amazing lives.

I will admit, after getting back into it, I’ve added it back to my DVR, and while it’s not high on the list of priorities, I will watch it. Whether that’s because I’m enjoying it, or because I’m invested remains to be seen, but I do enjoy the actors and after watching the special feature about how the medical terms are used, I am more impressed with their ability to get through each scene. How no one just bursts into tears at the amount of sad issues amazes me and shows me how good these actors are. I was sad at Sandra Oh’s last episode, but in the end, I was happy that her character moved on and became who she wanted to become.

Video (3 1/2 out of 4 stars)

Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season is presented in widescreen 1.78:1. The picture in each episode was sharp and clear and fast-moving scenes did not blur. Skin tones were natural and blood was appropriately red and not unrealistic. There were only a couple of time the picture was dark, but it didn’t really detract from the scenes. I’m sure it was a better picture than when it aired on television.

Audio (4 out of 5 stars)

The Dolby Digital 5.1 English surround sound audio of Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Tenth Season was really good. I could hear everything clearly and when characters were yelling over each other during the tragedies, it was still really clear. Subtitles are available in English SDH, French and Spanish, and there are a couple options for other languages (Portuguese and two Asian languages).

Extras (3 out of 5 stars)

I really enjoyed the special features included on the DVD. There could have been more, but the ones added were good.

An Immeasurable Gift: Sandra Oh – This is a great, almost 30-minute retrospective on the character of Cristina Yang. In it, Sandra Oh, the producers, creator, and cast members talk about the significant moments for Cristina and how those moments shaped the character.

Medical, Medical – A good rundown on the medical terms in the show. The writers go through so much in order to ensure that the medical terms, and procedures are accurate. Staff is on hand to consult, direct and make sure it’s all right.

Deleted Scenes – Fifteen deleted scenes from various episodes of the show. I didn’t think any of them needed to be included in the episodes. They were all good choices to leave out.

Bloopers – Two and one-half minutes of bloopers from around the set. This was entertaining and I found myself giggling.

Summary (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)

I’ve invested a lot of time in "Grey’s Anatomy." So much so that I had a hard time fully breaking up with it. Season 10, though, reminded me why I started watching in the first place. It was a good season, with all the drama you’d expect from a medical show. He Sandra Oh sendoff was really well done and I enjoyed watching her last episodes and her goodbyes. I don’t recommend jumping into the show at Season 10 because there is a lot the viewer won’t understand, but if you’ve got the time, definitely start from the beginning and catch up. Season 10 brought be back and made me un-break up with the show.